A family scans the ocean for migrating whales at Cape Ferrelo Viewpoint, located a few miles north of Brookings on Highway 101.
Gray whale numbers usually peak about the last week in March — just in time for the Spring Whale Watch Week, scheduled today through March 27.
Nearly 160 gray whales pass along the coast each day and whale watchers may see their 12-foot blow — or spout — from the shore.
Trained volunteers will be at 24 “Whale Watching Spoken Here” sites along the Oregon Coast from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day.
Volunteers will answer questions and share tips about spotting some of the 18,000 gray whales heading from their breeding grounds on Mexico’s Baja coast to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi Seas.
Locally, whales can be seen — and volunteers will be on hand to answer questions — at Battle Point Wayfinding Point in Port Orford, Cape Ferrelo viewpoint and Harris Beach in the Brookings area, and at Brother Jonathan Point in Crescent City.
Visitors hoping to spot some of these passing giants should keep an eye out for the “Whale Watching Spoken Here” signs posted at the whale watching viewpoints.
This time of year most of the whales can be spotted about 1 to 3 miles off the coastline. Occasionally, whales searching for food or an early mother and calf will swim close to the shore.
Information about “Whale Watching Spoken Here” can be found online at www.whalespoken.org.
Whale Watching tips
•Gray whales usually surface every 45 seconds as they swim, but will often stay under for three to five minutes when they are eating. If they have been down for five minutes they usually blow five times when they surface to replenish their oxygen supply.
•The ultimate in whale sightings is a breach — when a whale launches as much as three-quarters of its body out of the water in a spectacular show of power and grace. Scientists aren’t sure why whales breach.
•Gray whales can often seen “spyhopping,” or lifting their heads above the surface of the water to get a better sense of their surroundings.
•Morning light (with the sun at your back) is often helpful for spotting blows. Afternoon light reflects off the water and makes viewing difficult